Quick summary
- Early social media reactions to Ebenezer, Paramount’s dark take on A Christmas Carol, are mostly positive about Johnny Depp‘s Scrooge, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
- Full critics’ reviews land on 12 November, and the film opens in cinemas globally on 13 November.
- Variety reports Depp was paid $5 million, a fraction of his past fees, with bonuses tied to box office.
- Depp told fans at the London premiere that he owes them for supporting him “through thick and thin”.
Johnny Depp’s first major studio film in years is about to meet its audience. Ebenezer, a darker retelling of Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella, opens worldwide on 13 November, and the first wave of reactions, released by Paramount this week, leans warm on his performance, with a few dissenting voices.
What the first reactions say
Paramount held press screenings over several days and let attendees post short reactions online, The Hollywood Reporter reported. The film had its world premiere in New York on 1 November and its London premiere in Leicester Square on Monday night.
The tone of the posts is broadly upbeat. One attendee called Depp “a fiendish delight” who balances goofy charm with emotional weight. Another said the film treats the story as a true ghost story. Several singled out its Gothic horror style, and one compared the film’s feel to a Hammer Horror production.
It was not unanimous. One poster praised the makeup effects, the score and the direction but said Depp’s performance was the part that did not work. Another thought the editing and humour were uneven, though they found much of the film “deeply moving”. Screening reactions are curated by nature, so the full reviews on 12 November will be the real test.
Awards Daily said Depp is “getting high marks”, but its writer doubted the film would pick up a Golden Globe nomination in the comedy category.
A smaller pay cheque
The money angle has drawn as much attention as the reviews. Variety reported that Depp earned $5 million for the title role, according to Page Six and TMZ. TMZ added that he has been promised bonuses based on how the film performs at the box office.
Page Six set that against his $16 million fee for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald in 2018, and against the $90 million it says he reportedly made from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales in 2017, thanks to backend profits. By those figures, this is about a third of his last studio fee.
Why this film matters for Depp
Depp, 63, has worked rarely since 2020. The Hollywood Reporter notes his recent credits are the 2023 French film Jeanne du Barry and the 2024 biopic Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness, which he directed and produced but did not star in. The New Daily describes Ebenezer as his first major return to Hollywood after the two public trials involving his former wife, Amber Heard.
Those cases are well documented. In 2022 a jury found in his favour in his defamation suit against Heard. Earlier, in 2020, he lost a libel case in Britain against the publisher of The Sun, where a judge ruled the paper’s “wife beater” description was “substantially true”, according to The New Daily.
At the London premiere, Depp spoke about the reception. “The welcome that I’ve received, there’s no explanation,” he said, adding that the people there “have supported me through thick and thin”.
The film and its cast
Directed by Ti West, known for the X trilogy, and written by Nathaniel Halpern, Ebenezer is set in Victorian London. Depp plays the miserly Scrooge, who is visited by three spirits. The cast includes Ian McKellen, Rupert Grint, Daisy Ridley, Sam Claflin, Tramell Tillman and Andrea Riseborough.
Paramount is also using the release to help reopen a local landmark. The Hollywood Reporter says the Bay Theater in Pacific Palisades, closed since the 2025 wildfires, reopens on Friday, in time for the film’s release. It is a sign of how much the studio is investing in the launch. For more coverage, see our Movies and Celebrities pages.
What happens next
Critics’ reviews are due on 12 November, and the film opens the next day. After that, Depp is set to star in Lionsgate’s supernatural thriller Day Drinker in 2027, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Page Six also reports that Pirates of the Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer told Deadline in August he was in talks with Depp about the franchise’s next film. Page Six’s sources say Depp would play only a side role in a story centred on Margot Robbie’s character. Nothing has been confirmed by the studio in these reports.
Frequently asked questions
When is Ebenezer in cinemas?
Ebenezer is released globally on 13 November 2026. Full critics’ reviews are due the day before, on 12 November.
Who plays Scrooge in Ebenezer?
Johnny Depp plays Ebenezer Scrooge in Ti West’s adaptation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
How much was Johnny Depp paid for Ebenezer?
Variety reports he was paid $5 million, with bonuses linked to box office results. Neither Paramount nor Depp has been quoted on the figure in the sources we read.
